Inventory up more than a third on the year, sales down a fifth, and prices easing for a second month — the balance had shifted.
In August 2024, Calgary’s benchmark home price was $600,100 — down 0.7% from July but 6% above August 2023. Sales fell 19.7% year-over-year to 2,182 while inventory rose to 4,490 homes, 37.4% above last August. Supply reached 2.1 months and a typical home took 27 days to sell, two days longer than a year earlier. Apartment condos, at $341,400 and 2.4 months of supply, had the most slack of any segment.
August 2024 at a glance
August confirmed the turn. Calgary’s benchmark fell 0.7% to $600,100, its second consecutive monthly decline, while inventory surged to 4,490 homes — 37.4% above last August. Sales dropped 19.7% year-over-year to 2,182. Supply reached 2.1 months, more than double April’s record low of 0.9. For the first time in more than two years, the direction of every significant indicator favoured buyers.
Calgary prices over time
| Year | Benchmark price | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | $459,500 | — |
| 2015 | $448,800 | ▼ -2.3% |
| 2016 | $434,100 | ▼ -3.3% |
| 2017 | $433,200 | ▼ -0.2% |
| 2018 | $424,600 | ▼ -2% |
| 2019 | $415,900 | ▼ -2% |
| 2020 | $421,300 | ▲ +1.3% |
| 2021 | $463,900 | ▲ +10.1% |
| 2022 | $518,800 | ▲ +11.8% |
| 2023 | $565,200 | ▲ +8.9% |
| 2024 (to August) | $600,100 | ▲ +6.2% |
Sales, listings and inventory
| Month | Sales | New listings | Inventory | Days on market | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2023 | 2,430 | 3,191 | 3,383 | 25 | $565,600 |
| October 2023 | 2,169 | 2,685 | 3,205 | 27 | $566,800 |
| November 2023 | 1,783 | 2,227 | 3,001 | 29 | $567,900 |
| December 2023 | 1,362 | 1,248 | 2,170 | 33 | $565,200 |
| January 2024 | 1,649 | 2,137 | 2,155 | 34 | $565,300 |
| February 2024 | 2,132 | 2,711 | 2,357 | 24 | $579,800 |
| March 2024 | 2,658 | 3,173 | 2,542 | 20 | $589,500 |
| April 2024 | 2,875 | 3,489 | 2,716 | 20 | $596,800 |
| May 2024 | 3,090 | 4,333 | 3,404 | 19 | $602,800 |
| June 2024 | 2,737 | 3,796 | 3,784 | 20 | $605,300 |
| July 2024 | 2,374 | 3,603 | 4,159 | 24 | $604,400 |
| August 2024 | 2,182 | 3,536 | 4,490 | 27 | $600,100 |
The headline numbers
| Metric | August 2024 | vs prev month | vs last year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benchmark price | $600,100 | ▼ -0.7% | ▲ +6% |
| Sales | 2,182 | ▼ -8.1% | ▼ -19.7% |
| New listings | 3,536 | ▼ -1.9% | ▲ +13% |
| Inventory | 4,490 | ▲ +8% | ▲ +37.4% |
| Days on market | 27 | ▲ +3 days | ▲ +2 days |
A look by property type
| Property type | Benchmark | vs last year | Sales | Days on mkt | Months of supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | $761,200 | ▲ +9.3% | 1,024 | 26 | 2.0 |
| Semi-detached | $681,300 | ▲ +9.6% | 172 | 25 | 2.0 |
| Row / townhouse | $459,600 | ▲ +12% | 383 | 25 | 1.7 |
| Apartment condo | $341,400 | ▲ +14.1% | 603 | 32 | 2.4 |
Supply more than doubled in four months
0.9 months in April, 2.1 in August. Inventory rose from 2,716 homes to 4,490 over the same period — an increase of about 65%.
That is a genuine regime change, not a seasonal wobble. The lock-in effect that had kept Calgary’s listings suppressed since mid-2022 had broken, helped by prices that had risen enough to make selling worthwhile for owners who had been waiting.
Prices were easing gently, not falling
Down 0.7% in August after -0.1% in July. Cumulatively the benchmark was 0.9% below the June peak. Against the 17.2% rise over the preceding eighteen months, that is barely a pause.
It’s worth setting expectations honestly here. Calgary’s supply had normalised, but at 2.1 months it was still well below the four-to-six months considered balanced. A market that tight doesn’t produce steep price declines; it produces the slow drift the city experienced over the following two years.
Condos had the most give
Apartment condos sat at 2.4 months of supply with 32 days on market — the loosest and slowest segment in Calgary. Prices were still up 14.1% year-over-year at $341,400, but that reflected the past twelve months, not the current month.
Row homes at 1.7 months and detached at 2.0 were tighter. For the first time since 2021, the condo market was the one with room to negotiate, which is where it had been before the whole cycle began.
What this meant if you were buying
The obvious question in late 2024 was whether to wait for rates to fall further. It’s worth thinking that through carefully, because lower rates increase what every buyer can borrow at once.
In a market with 2.1 months of supply, a broad increase in buying power tends to show up in prices rather than in affordability. Waiting for a lower rate can mean competing against more buyers for the same homes at higher prices. Whether that trade favours you depends on your own numbers — but it is a trade, not a free option.
Frequently asked questions
Weighing waiting against buying now?
Lower rates lift everyone’s budget at once — which usually lifts prices too. Let’s model both paths on your numbers.
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Source: CREB, August 2024 (City of Calgary geography). Prices shown are benchmark (HPI) values. Month-over-month compares to the prior month; year-over-year to the same month last year. The board may revise past months as late sales are recorded. Prepared by Mortgages for Less.
